12.05.2012

happenings around here: it's diy o'clock!

A couple of my very bestest - Dal and her husband Brian - are moving away in a few weeks, and I won't be here for their blow-out send-off weekend, so I'm having them over for dinner next week to say goodbye (sniff). This means my "get this place into shape" projects have been kicked into high gear, and I'm d.i.y'ing my little butt off!

It's not like they would care about it's current state - Dallas is probably the most encouraging person I've ever met, and would say it looked amazing no matter what - but I do. In fact, Brian has never been allowed past my front door I care so much. Ri-di-cu-lous.

Anyway, it's not really all for the get-together - these projects were all already planned or on the go - but knowing it was coming up has been exactly the kick in the ass I needed to get shit done! In the last week I've a) finally found an awesome purple velvet (discounted by 80%!) and dropped it off with the seamstress to sew up some sofa cushions, b) ordered a pink velvet ikat pillow off etsy, c) bought a new rug for my bedroom (as you know), and d) picked out a pretty linen to cover the lampshades in my livingroom.

I've also been spray painting up a storm, tackling a pair of ikea frames and these puppies...

...which are going to go glossy black.

While paint coats were drying I've been working away at the palm leaf pendant light, and am almost at the finish line! Which is so f-ing amazing, because what I thought was going to be a simple d.i.y. has turned out to be anything but: the fabric that looked like it was going to peel straight off ended up ripping into tiny little shards every time I pulled. Like, shards the size of a fly.

Let's just say I wasn't able to trace the old fabric as a template :P

Last but not least, my lovely parents came up for the weekend and built custom shelves for my bedroom closet! This was actually the most transformational of all, because it means that all my crap is tidied away and easily accessible. No more cans of spray paint and spools of ribbon on the floor for me!

There was so much stuff piled half-hazardly in there before that when my mom emptied it all onto the bed it looked like a bomb had gone off:

But then all of that - plus a whole bunch more - made it's way back in looking like this (apologies for the crap photos):

Ahhhh, order in my home means order in my brain.

You'd think that after all of this I'd be just about done, but I'm actually considering reupholstering my kitchen chairs too. Oh, and painting the fabric by hand. Because apparently I've lost my f-ing mind.

At least it's the fun kind of crazy ;)

Any of you have projects on the go? Are you as anal about people seeing your place as I am? Do tell!

I am totally the same about people seeing my place in order! I have some chairs I want to upholster and a hutch I am turning into a bar cart... Oh and these kitchen cabinets, finally convinced my guy that we should give them a face life and I wish we would have started earlier.... All this on jet lag (got in from 2.5 weeks in Switzerland last night) Good luck and I can't wait to see!